Gallic Veneti

The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the region of Armorica in what is now southern Brittany, France. The Veneti tribe's capital was Darioritum, which would later be renamed "Vannes" in its honor. The tribe controlled the tin trade from mining in Cornwall and Devon in England, and the Veneti had close relations with the Britons; they even summoned military assistance during the Gallic Wars against Julius Caesar in 56 BC. The Veneti were by far the most powerful tribe on the east coast of Brittany, having a large fleet plying between their own ports and Britain and controlling the few scattered harbors that were safe from violent storms. The tribe detained the junior Roman officers Quintus Velanius and Titus Silius with the goal of recovering the hostages they had surrendered to Publius Licinius Crassus; their neighbors, the Esuvii and Coriosolites, would follow their example by arresting the envoys Titus Terrasidius and Marcus Trebius Gallus, respectively. Caesar decided to build a fleet of warships on the Loire, to draft rowers from Transalpine Gaul, and to enlist seamen and pilots. The league of tribes on the Atlantic seaboard allied against Rome, declaring war. In the ensuing conflict, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus defeated the Veneti fleet at Quiberon Bay, and the battle decisively defeated the tribe. Every tribesman capable of bearing arms had been called up to serve in the armed forces regardless of age, rank, or experience; every ship in the navy had been recalled for operational duties in home waters; and the survivors had no means of defending their strongholds. The Veneti decided to surrender unconditionally, and the entire national council suffered the death penalty, while the rest were sold into slavery.